CVE-2014-7796 in House365 Radio
Summary
by MITRE
The House365 Radio (aka com.nobexinc.wls_27853803.rc) application 3.2.3 for Android does not verify X.509 certificates from SSL servers, which allows man-in-the-middle attackers to spoof servers and obtain sensitive information via a crafted certificate.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/19/2024
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2014-7796 affects the House365 Radio Android application version 3.2.3, representing a critical security flaw in the application's implementation of secure communications. This issue stems from the application's failure to properly validate X.509 certificates during SSL/TLS connections, creating a significant attack vector for malicious actors seeking to intercept or manipulate communications between the mobile client and remote servers. The vulnerability directly impacts the application's ability to establish trust with legitimate services, potentially allowing attackers to establish fraudulent connections while maintaining the appearance of legitimate communication channels.
The technical flaw manifests in the application's certificate verification process, where the software fails to perform proper validation of SSL certificates presented by servers. This weakness enables man-in-the-middle attacks where adversaries can present fraudulent certificates that appear legitimate to the vulnerable application. The flaw operates at the transport layer security validation level, specifically targeting the certificate chain validation mechanisms that should ensure the authenticity of server identities. According to CWE classification, this represents a weakness in certificate validation practices, specifically CWE-295 which addresses improper certificate validation. The vulnerability falls under the ATT&CK technique T1573.002 for "Encrypted Channels: Asymmetric Cryptography" and T1041 for "Exfiltration Over C2 Channel" as it enables unauthorized data access through compromised secure communications.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data interception to encompass potential full system compromise and data theft. Attackers exploiting this flaw can obtain sensitive information including user credentials, personal data, and potentially financial information transmitted through the application. The vulnerability is particularly concerning for radio streaming applications that may transmit user preferences, listening habits, or personal identifiers, as these communications can be intercepted and analyzed to build detailed user profiles. Mobile applications are especially vulnerable to this attack vector due to the limited computational resources and constrained security implementations typical of mobile platforms, making proper certificate validation more challenging to implement correctly.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability require immediate implementation of proper SSL certificate validation mechanisms within the application. Developers should implement certificate pinning techniques to ensure that only pre-approved certificates are accepted, thereby preventing the acceptance of fraudulent certificates even when they appear valid. The application must perform comprehensive certificate chain validation including checking certificate expiration dates, verifying certificate authorities, and ensuring proper certificate signatures. Security patches should enforce strict certificate validation procedures and implement proper error handling when certificate validation fails. Organizations should also consider implementing network monitoring to detect potential man-in-the-middle attacks and establish secure communication protocols that do not rely on the vulnerable certificate validation mechanisms. The remediation efforts should align with industry best practices outlined in NIST SP 800-52 for certificate management and the OWASP Mobile Security Project guidelines for secure mobile application development.